On an official visit to The Gambia, where he was due to meet the country's new president, Adama Barrow, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica signed a €75 million financial agreement in Banjul on Thursday 9 February as a sign of the EU's immediate support for the democratic process, which opens a new page in cooperation between the EU and this ACP country (see EUROPE 11721).
"The EU is fully committed to engage with President Barrow and his government. We want to be a privileged partner of The New Gambia", Mimica stated in a press release. He also announced that the Commission is preparing "a medium-term package of €150 million, which will focus on building the capacities of the state and on job creation". An EU technical mission is currently visiting Banjul to identify areas of common interest.
From the €75 million in aid committed on Thursday, €10.5 million will finance the improvement of roads in order to strengthen access to markets and to socio-economic infrastructure for the most vulnerable "including female-headed households", the Commission states. A further €20.5 million will aim to create job opportunities, especially for young people, and to improve access to food, while €11.5 million will finance a project aiming to improve food security and fight malnutrition. Another €21 million is intended for other projects such as the fight against climate change, support for civil society organisations and for democracy and human rights.
These projects will mainly be financed by the European Development Fund (EDF), the financial envelope of the Cotonou Agreement linking the EU to the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Group of countries. Only €11 million, earmarked for creating jobs for young people, will come from the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The Gambia has thus far benefitted from €14.9 million under this fund, which aims to fight the deep-rooted causes of irregular migration. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)